Skip to content

What It's Like To Research Study English At York

I'm now midway through my time in York as an English trainee, and I have actually been taking pleasure in every minute of it. Here's some things I wish I 'd understood about the course before beginning uni:

You discover that there is a whole wide world of literatures (Yes, with the plural's'!).

One dazzling thing about the York English Lit structure is that it exposes students to English Literature throughout time periods and across continents, and permits you to find writers you've never ever become aware of previously. In your first year, you'll start off with a module that includes texts from the 15th century all the way to the modern. In readings, lectures and seminars, conversation of these texts likewise necessarily includes discussions of the significant historic events of that period, how life was like in that era, and naturally, important philosophical and cultural readings of the text (something which I've grown to really enjoy reading).

In another module, York's English programme exposes us to global literatures, centred around styles such as post-colonialism (the Literature of countries who were ex-British colonies, for example). Personally, I found that to be an extremely improving experience that broadened my worldview and prompted me to think about the relationship in between Literature and Politics, and to question the function of a literary text.

This might sound a little complicated, however it actually isn't so! You absolutely can expect to find studying English at uni to be significantly various from the method we did it at A Levels, and while I did feel quite stressed out in the first few weeks of term, I ultimately found my footing and grew to enjoy the volume and rate of work we have at uni. Likewise, it offers you a huge sense of accomplishment when you look back at the end of the term at all the poems, plays and novels you have actually gone through in just 10 weeks!

The wide direct exposure to several durations of literature makes you discover interests in subjects you never engaged with before. For me, post-colonialism was my newfound love.

Versatility, flexibility, versatility!

Studying English at York is awesome due to the fact that the course offers you a lot of self-reliance to direct your research studies. The English course has fairly couple of contact hours (a.k.a. time invested in lectures and seminars) as compared to other topics. The coolest thing about the English course would be that you get to choose what you desire to compose you essay on-- there are no set questions (conserve for the written exams in summer season term)!

Having more versatility with your schedule also indicates that you can utilise the time to sign up with more societies and even take up a term-time internship, which was precisely what I did! Through the York Careers Portal, I looked for a term-time internship lasting for 12 weeks in Communications, and invested approximately 12 hours a week at the internship, which relates to about 3 days a week. This assisted me gain work experience and employability skills, and also some additional earnings on the side.

We have film screenings.

We enjoy film adjustments of a few of the texts in our reading lists (side note: I like how these sessions show up on our schedule as legit required lectures to go to)! Who 'd have believed that studying English at uni also includes sitting in a dark lecture theatre and seeing a motion picture projected on to the substantial screen? Think of it as a Netflix movie date ... but with a whole lot of people.

In my very first year, I remember viewing A Midsummer's Night Dream and loving how the film represented the characters of the play so much that I wrote one of my essays on the play! And simply last term, watching Samuel Beckett's Endgame throughout a film screening made me see the play in a whole various light, prompting me to obtain three different books from the library about Beckett and his works.

They're not going to let you be confused and worried all by yourself.

We're appointed an individual supervisor at the start of university, and this manager will be a scholastic from your department-- in our case, English-- and you 'd satisfy him/her frequently throughout your 3 years of research study to just talk about how you're discovering the course and how you're feeling, if you're coping well or if you're having a problem about module options, etc.

The Negative Effect Of Naplan Testing

New research study raises concerns about the effects of the National Assessment Program-- Literacy And Numeracy (NAPLAN) on the health and wellbeing of trainees and on favorable mentor and finding out approaches. NAPLAN was introduced to enhance literacy and numeracy in Australian primary and secondary schools, but the question needs to be asked: is it worth it?

The suite of tests that comprise NAPLAN, administered in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, are intended to determine 3 things: first, how private trainees are carrying out; 2nd, the level to which national literacy and numeracy criteria are being attained at each school; and third, how well educational programs are working in Australian schools.

Seven years of NAPLAN testing have produced blended results.

Our team hung out in five school neighborhoods (in Victoria and New South Wales) where we talked to students, moms and dads, teachers and school principals. The report is perhaps the most substantial to this day as it is the very first to study the influence on trainees.

What did the research find?

The findings expose that, versus its stated objectives, NAPLAN is at best a blunt tool.

The results aren't universally unfavorable. Some instructors discover the outcomes informative, there is evidence that in some schools NAPLAN results have been a trigger to carry out literacy and numeracy programs, and some parents appreciate the simple evaluation of their children's accomplishment levels.

Nevertheless, the research shows that NAPLAN is plagued by negative influence on student wellbeing and learning. Our previous study of instructors discovered that 90% of teachers reported that students felt stressed prior to taking the test.

This study of trainee experiences of NAPLAN draws attention to the need to take trainee health and wellbeing into account in educational efforts. While Australian educational policies do not explicitly state all procedures must remain in the best interests of the children, they should conform to the ethical practice of "doing no harm".

The lots of unintentional consequences of NAPLAN stem from the failure to take the interests of all students seriously. The formal and inflexible style of NAPLAN is not conducive to learning and teaching approaches that emphasise deep knowing.

NAPLAN, which utilizes language and a style of testing that is often foreign to trainees, strays from the systems built in classrooms that promote knowing.

Our report found that a majority of trainees disliked NAPLAN and were uncertain of its purpose. A majority reported sensations of tension.

Those who were struggling in maths and/or literacy were the most distressed about whether they would fail. Worryingly, schools reported that these trainees (whom the tests are designed to help) were typically the ones least likely to sit the tests. A smaller proportion reported particular stress-related conditions such as insomnia, hyperventilation, profuse sweating, nail biting, headaches, stomach aches and migraines.

Bulk want NAPLAN scrapped

When asked what message they would like to offer to the Australian federal government about NAPLAN, a bulk of participants recommended that it needs to be ditched.

Nevertheless, many also made ideas about how NAPLAN could be made more pertinent (through using much better examples and more available language) and the best ways to lower levels of tension. Those in favour of NAPLAN focused on the chance it provides trainees to practice the art of sitting tests.

The in-depth analysis of trainees' experiences in five varied Australian communities contained in our report provides the very first organized analysis of the effect of NAPLAN testing on trainees. It strengthens the views of many parents, school principals and teachers: that NAPLAN has substantial unexpected consequences, which have a negative effect on the quality of learning and trainee wellness.

Although NAPLAN testing is developed to improve the quality of education young people get in Australia, its execution, utilizes and misuses mean that it weakens quality education and does harm that is not in the very best interests of Australian kids.